Electric vaporizer



May 26, 1942.

J. ROBINSON ELECTRIC VAPORIZER Filed March 2'7, 1939 INVENTOR. Jasgpfi K051115011, BY

EMU/T RM. ATTORNEY Patented May 26, 1942 v UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE ELECTRIC VAPORIZER Joseph Robinson, New York, N. Y. Application March 27, 1939, Serial No. 264,358

3 Claims. (01. 128-192) This inventionrelates to electric Vaporizers of the hand type for generating hot medicated vapors for inhalation in the treatment of head colds, sinus infection, catarrh and other afllictions of the upper respiratory organs. The subject matter herein disclosed is divided out of my copending application Serial No. 32,438 filed July 20, 1935, which matured into Patent #2,151,719 March 23, 1939. This application is therefore a division of that application. Among the objects of the invention are to provide improved means for anchoring in place the switch blades and other parts of Vaporizers of the type described; to provide improved means for interlockingly securing the medicant container to the handle of the instrument; to provide improved means for insulating the hot surfaces of the instrument that otherwise would be exposed to the user, and to provide a simple detachable nasal piece whereby a single vaporizer may be interchangeably used by all the members of a family each of whom is provided with an individual nasal piece of his own, These and other objects and advantages of my invention will appear from the following description and accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a vertical section, approximately twice size, through one embodiment of my improvement;

Figure 2 is a vertical section through the handl? O y invention showing a modification of 2 the means for securing the switch blades in place;

Figure 3 is a View similar to Figure 2 showing a further modification of the means for anchor- I ing the switch blades in position;

spacer vertically slotted at 3| to receive the electric cord 32. At its bottom and on diametrically opposite sides of its inner walls the base "A is provided with a plurality of upwardly extending grooves or slots 33-34 which open towards the center of the handle or base and which snugly receive the tongue 30 and the lower ends of one or more vertically arranged switch blades or terminals 36. The blades are removably positioned in the handle A by these grooves in which they closely fit, the tongue 35 forming a front retaining wall for the blades against which the lower inner face of the blades tightly bear. The tongue 3!! is slotted on opposite sides at 30' to receive the inwardly turned portion or lug 31 formed on the bottom of each blade to provide an interlock with the plug C. The arrangement is such that when the tonguev is pressed tightly into the grooves 3333, with the blades 35-36 in place (Figure 1), the several parts are firmly assembled in interlocked relation. To contain the substance to be vaporized I provide a special container E made of any suitable material, such as aluminum, and preferably of one piece. The container is turned back on its self to form the cup 38 and a dependent sleeve or skirt 39. The cup and the sleeve are spaced apart laterally with the sleeve mounted on the upper end of the base or handle A in liquid tight relation thereto. Adjacent the bottom of the cup I provide on the handle a fiat seat 40 on which the heater D rests and by which it is positioned horizontally. The heater is locked in the sleeve 39 by a lock ring or washer 4! which is pressed into the sleeve behind the heater and is provided with fingers or lugs 42 that turn upwardly into complementarily openings 43 (Figure 1) in the bottom of the heater to lock the heater against rotation in the sleeve. The heater engages the bottom of the cup by which upward movement of the heater with respect to itsseat 40, and with respect also to the terminals 3533, is prevented. A suitable insulating disc 44 is placed between the bottom of the cup and the heater to insulate the resiste ance coil 45 from the cup.

The upper end of the blade or termina1'35 is turned over approximately and is threaded to receive the threaded lower end of the centrally arranged heater screw 43. The arrangement is such that when the heater-container unit is mounted on the handle A the screw 43 is threaded into the terminal 35 by turning the container E. This operation draws the ,disc shaped heater D into tightengagement with its seat 40, and positively locks the plug C and the blades 35 36 in position in the bottom of the base or handle A. To brace the blade 35 against undii'e deflection during this assembly I extend a rib 35' of the handle inwardly against the blade as shown in Figure I. The interlock of the heater and the blade 35, and the interlock'of the blade with the handle A,jerfectively interlocks the container to the handle with a downwardly drawing or clamping'a'ction, whereby the connection between the container and the handle A is permanently made liquid tight and any contents of the container that might spill are prevented from coming in contact with the heater D.

The terminals 47 of the electric cord 32 are l connected to the blades 3536 by passing theirends under struck-out lugs 48 of the blades and pressing the lugs firmly against the cables. Excess strains on the cables, such as might disturb the connection, are prevented by tying the cord suitably .to the tongue 30 of the plug C, Figure 1.

The blade 36 is moved into engagement with the contact washer 43 of the heater to close the electric circuit by pressing the switch button 50. The

circuit is opened by removing he pressure on this button.

To direct the vapors to the nasal passages, and

to insulate against the heat of the sleeve or skirt 39 of the container E, I mounta cover or cap B quite tightly n the container, the intention being that the cap shall remain in place to insulate the container at all times except when it is desired to repair the interior of the vaporizer or thoroughly clean the instrument. The cap covers all the outer surface of the container ex: cept the upper edge of the latter and is provided with windows or openings in oppositesides piece or tip 52 is removably mounted in an openduces an electric vaporizer of the hand type in which the switch blades or terminals 35-36 are vertically and removably arranged in the elongated hollow handle A with their lower ends closely fitting and secured in vertical slots or grooves 33-34 formed on the inner walls of the handle adjacent the bottom of the latter, and in which the heater D is mounted on a horizontally ar- .10 at a point above the container. A hollow nasal,

ing in the top of the cover and extends down I into the cup 38, the arrangement permitting. thev use ,of individual tips of identifying colorsby different members oia family. In this embodiment .of. my, inventioncurrents of air are, on inhalation, drawn thr0ugh the windows5l and down into the ,cup 38 where, they entrain the vapors and thence upwardly-through the .me'mable plug or section F to which is threadingly' ranged'seat 40. formed on the handle adjacent the top of the latter and is retained thereon by the interlocked connection of the container E with the handle A.

What I; claim is:

1. An electric vaporizer comprising in combination, an elongated hollow base provided with an opening at its top andbottom and having a s'eat adjacenttoeach said opening, a heater having a horizontally fiat upper face mounted on the seat at thetop of -said:base and covering the. opening, in that end of the base,-a plug extending into the opening in the bottom .of the base and bearing against the seat formed at that end of the base, said seat servingas-astop for said plug, a terminal member. inside said base and extending upwardly from said .plug into engagement with said heater, interlocking means at opposite ends of said, terminal for anchoring the terminal to said plug, andto said base wherebysaid plug,

connected :a separator 54 having an annular flange 55 for engaging, the bottom of the handle at 56, to fix and limit upward movement of the separator member. This memberis slotted or" grooved vertically at 51' to snugly receive the switch blades .36 and position them in the handle; the blades being anchored in these grooves, and the electric cord secured to the blades by suitable screws '58. 'Rotation of the separator member 54 and the blade.35-3B in the handle or base A, is prevented by a lug 59 formed on the interior of the handle. When the screw 46 of the stoveorheater D is threaded tightly into the upper end of the blade 35-the container E,(not shown in this view) is interlocked with the handle A in liquid tight relation thereto the same as in the construction shown in Figure 1. 'In likemanner the plug said base and said terminal are maintained in the assembled position, a container seated on-said heater to contain the substance to be vaporized, and "an electric cord extending into said. base and connected therewith.

F'and separator 54 are drawn tightly against the bottom of the handle as at 56.

v'I'he modified construction shown in Figure 3 includes a plug or cover G which closes and bears against the bottom of the base or handle A. This cover is provided, with an integral tongue or separator member 60 to which the switch blades 3536 are firmly anchored byzsuitable screws as shown, these screws serving also to' secure the strands of the electric cord 32 in proper relation to the switch blades. Vertically arranged ribs or grooves Bl areprovided on the tongueto snugly receive the. bottoms of the switch blades and position the blades in the handle. Rotation of the plug or cover G and the switch assembly in the handleA, is'prevented by'lugs' 62 which extend into complementary openings formed in the bottom of the 2. An electric vaporizer comprising in combination, an elongated hollow'base provided with an opening at its top' and bottom and having a seat adjacent to each said opening, a heater having a horizontally flat upper. face mounted on the seat at the top of: said base and covering the opening in that end of the base, a switch blade inside said base and extending upwardly .from a point .adjacent'to. the bottom of said base to a point opposite said heater, said switch blade being adapted to be pressed against said heater to close the electric circuit, a retaining plug in the lower end of said base and bearing against said seat formed on that end of the base, said plug having a vertical bearing, which is tightly engaged by the lower end of said switch blade, said plug being pressed intothe bottom of said base to lock the lower end of said blade in place in said base, means for preventing rotation of said plug and said blade relative to the base when the plug and the blade are in place in the base, and an electric cord extending upwardly through said plug into circuit engagement with said'heater andsaid switch blade.

- 3; A cover for covering and insulating the container' of an electric vaporizer such as herein described comprising a body of insulating material which embraces said container, said cover being normally open at both ends and having a bridge above said container which spans the opening in the upper end of the cover, said bridge being formed integral with saidv cover and joined to opposite walls thereof; the opening in the upper handle. The tongue Ell-spaces the cover G lat- ,erally in the handle, and thescrew 46iof the heater D exerts a 'vertical clamping, action on the plug G, and interlocks the container E (not shown in this'view) to the handle A, in'the manner described in connection with Figures 1 and 2.

The foregoing construction (Figure 1) proendof said cover serving as a window through which the substance 'to be vaporized is passed into said container and through which air currents enter said container on inhalation, and-a nasal device mounted on said bridge above said container for directing the vapors.

r JOSEPH ROBINSON. 

